Title here

The Connected StoreCreating the Optimum Store Experience

Microsoft Smarter Retailing Delivering next-generation retail innovation

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As consumers become more discerning, retailers have to find new ways to attract customers and retain their loyalty. Organisations are providing new shopping channels or offering greater levels of in-store convenience than ever before to meet these demands.

A key priority for today’s retailers is to develop a sophisticated IT strategy that sets the groundwork for creating the optimum store experience. In fact, future success may depend on it. Innovative retailers are using technology to deliver sophisticated in-store systems that provide more ways to shop and generate a whole new experience. Kiosks and self-service checkouts have extended the point-of-sale (POS) approach to one that satisfies all customer demands. And by using wireless devices connected to a central database, staff can instantly access detailed information from back-office systems such as supply chain data, or answer customer queries about availability or product details on the spot.

However, the path to innovation is not an easy one. Typical retail IT environments can be highly complex, with multiple technology platforms in place and a diversity of solutions needed to run the business. This, in turn, may lead to a cumbersome IT infrastructure that requires high levels of investment that makes such innovation difficult to achieve for even the largest of retailers. But cost-effective, user-friendly and value-added in-store solutions can be accessible to all retailers. By uniting multiple outlets, integrating communication channels, and providing real-time connectivity to shop-floor employees, retailers can transform the store experience.

Many organisations are now focusing their efforts on the connected store: an approach to technology that seamlessly integrates store-level systems to help retailers connect mission-critical information across the enterprise.

In a connected-store, legacy systems and new technologies are brought together to help retailers run their businesses more easily and effectively. This integration ensures that employees have access to the systems and tools they need to do their jobs efficiently, regardless of what branch or department they’re in. This approach can also support choices about retailers’ future business needs and technology requirements. It can lower total cost of ownership, while giving staff more control.

Retailers of any size or complexity can benefit from connected-store solutions, which consolidate IT functions for ease of management and maintenance. Smaller companies can choose from a variety of off-the-shelf products that address specific needs, such as point of sale, stock control, or reporting. Larger retailers often have more complex requirements and need to develop more versatile or tailored solutions with the help of technology partners, build solutions in house, or take advantage of outsourcing options.

Creating the Optimum Store Experience

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TESCO

Tesco Achieves 60 Per Cent Customer Service IncreaseLeading U.K. grocery retailer Tesco needed to replace an ageing weighing-scales infrastructure at its in-store delicatessen, fish, meat, and bakery departments. This system made it difficult to find product information quickly and slowed customer service.

The company engaged Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Conchango to help it design and develop a scales application based on the Microsoft .NET Framework.

Counter staff can now serve customers much faster by accessing product information through easy-to-use touch screens. Mark Green, Business Project Manager, Tesco, says: “Staff now have all the information they need at their fingertips. Since implementation we have measured a 60 per cent increase in customer service performance.”

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Connecting Systems and Devices The growing number of devices used in the store, from kiosks to handheld and wireless units, adds to the management and deployment challenge. A connected store approach aims to simplify and automate basic device-management functions. Software is available to recover, deploy, manage, and monitor store systems from a central location and create the relevant alerts and reports to advise users of an impending maintenance requirement or a failure. This can help save time and money, and prevent lost sales.

Larger retailers with multiple stores or branches can benefit from centrally-managed systems, which overcome the common problem of IT staff being unaware of various store-level fixes and stop-gap measures taken to deal with potentially serious or immobilising local issues. Over time, these store-level actions can create marked divergence between the corporate standard and each store’s actual system configuration.

Connecting People with Information The optimum store experience should aim to ensure that every contact with a customer is as positive as possible, whether it leads to an immediate sale or not. The best way to accomplish this is to give everyone within the retail organisation, especially employees dealing directly with customers, access to the most recent, most accurate information available. By determining what information is essential for which roles, the retailer can begin the process of developing the supporting systems.

Many retailers are recognising the benefits of adopting communication and collaboration tools that give control back to retail employees. Using tools such as portals, employees can enhance their efficiency by accessing and sharing best-practice information, searching on product data, or accessing training tools. This can also reduce the administration burden for other departments in the organisation, such as human resources or IT, which can focus on more value-added tasks.

Communications tools help managers to spend more time on the shop floor supervising employees, dealing with issues before they become problems, and improving sales and store operations. Store managers can often be overwhelmed with daily tasks, such as filing employee information, and analysing sales reports and planograms. These restrict the store manager to a back room where the computer, which runs the applications that access this information, resides.

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Solutions that are more adaptable to the movements of employees are fast becoming key to success in retail. The Martec International Mobility in Retail Survey 2005, produced in association with Microsoft, recently assessed the impact of mobile technology among U.K. retailers. Of those interviewed, 83 per cent were already using, or planning to adopt, wireless and mobile technologies in-store. Of those that were already using such technology, many reported numerous benefits including improved store productivity, customer service, and a positive increase in sales.

Mobile solutions such as handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) free up employees to move about the store, while still providing them with access to critical data such as product specifications or availability information. For store managers, automatic, prioritised information, such as real-time alerts, sent to their mobile device, ensures that they can spend more time on the shop floor. Here, they can contribute to and maximise sales, motivate staff, and increase productivity, while making sure that customers are being looked after. In addition, mobile access to information such as store performance data can help managers respond to relevant in-store issues, such as stock replenishment, and make important decisions quickly and effectively.

EXPERTICITY

Video links customers to sales expertsRetailers operate in a fiercelycompetitive environment. Those looking for service differentiation need to increase service levels without adding cost, deploy staff more productively, and provide access to consistent product information on the sales floor to boost customer service.

Microsoft partner Experticity has created LiveSupport to meet these challenges. Using a video link, LiveSupport puts customers at the point of sale directly in touch with a remote, but real, sales expert. Customers can see and speak to the sales expert and discuss the wealth of data that they see on screen, which helps them to make better purchasing decisions.

Retailers can use these interactions to up-sell and cross-sell. In addition, the flexibility of the system helps organisations to save on labour costs and absorb peaks in demand, as floor staff can lead their customers to the screen to get assistance.

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Connecting the ChannelsA recent IMRG Index recorded that in November 2005 U.K. Internet sales exceeded £2 billion in one month for the first time ever, 50 per cent higher than was reported for the same month in 2004. With Web-based purchasing at an all-time high, retailers are increasingly focusing on multi-channel strategies aimed at aligning their different channels to ensure a consistency of customer experience, irrespective of how they may choose to shop.

But to take advantage of this growth, a clear understanding of customers and customer information, together with the integration of key operational data—such as stock control, price, and product description—across different channels, is critical.

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Five Business Benefits of a Connected Store • Management Retailers gain better control of existing

store systems, as well as a wide range of devices used throughout the enterprise.

• Integration Current business needs and technology requirements can be more easily aligned with retailers’ hardware, software, and point-of-service peripheral purchases.

• Information Access Powerful information is available where it can do the most good—in the hands of front-line sales staff and customers through self-service technologies.

• Mobility Better communication ensures greater mobility for store and district managers and provides them with the tools they need to do their jobs effectively. It also ensures that customer-facing staff can access information to respond to customer queries quickly.

• Easier Deployment Platforms designed with interoperability in mind and based on industry standards make it easier for retailers to deploy value-added solutions to meet their business requirements.

RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION

Rugby Retailer Cuts Seven Days from Stock Take The English Rugby Football Union (RFU) needed to improve customer satisfaction at its retail outlets The Rugby Stores and improve integration between its electronic point of sale (EPOS), mail order and stock management systems.

Microsoft® Partner K3 Landsteiner delivered a solution best suited its needs, which is based on Microsoft Business Solutions Navision, now part of Microsoft DynamicsTM. K3 Landsteiner added customised components to handle stock management, mail order, sales ledger, purchase ledger, and EPOS.

The organisation now has full visibility of stock availability, and can run consistent offers across all retail channels. Integration with handheld scanners has also reduced tock-take time by seven days. Ruth Hibbins-Butler, Project Manager, RFU, says: “With the manual system there was large potential for error, but the greatest benefit has been in time-saving.”

While more retailers are recognising the need to deliver a positive shopping experience to consumers irrespective of the channel they use, only a few have begun taking the steps needed to create a single view of each customer and to use that knowledge consistently across all channels.

The emergence of multi-channel retailing has revived interest in customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. These range from basic customer loyalty programmes to sophisticated customer-profiling applications, which incorporate individual customer data such as purchase history and complaints lodged. CRM allows retailers to tailor interactions to customer behaviour and preferences. Overall, retailers are looking for ways to maintain a single view of the customer across multiple touch points, with the goal of more effectively targeting products, services, and offers.

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Title hereThe Connected Store Concept

Microsoft is keenly aware of retailers’ desire to create the optimum customer experience while balancing challenging technology factors, such as functionality, deployment and maintenance, and head-office-to-store communication. The Microsoft® Smarter Retailing InitiativeTM is a proposition that consists of Smarter Shopping, Smarter Selling, and Smarter Operations. It takes advantage of a technology platform designed to help retailers connect mission-critical information across the enterprise to create the right customer, staff, and operational environments.

Traditionally, this information may be tied up in legacy systems. But in today’s retail environment, real-time information is the lifeblood that can drive key processes that make retailers more responsive to customer needs. For example, access to sales, product, inventory, and customer data is essential for the building of efficient business processes, from demand planning and promotions management, to labour scheduling and replenishment. The role of technology is to integrate and communicate this information by extracting it from existing legacy systems and make it available to support all shopping channels. Otherwise, the channels can become data silos that prevent knowledge flowing to the people who really need it.

The Smarter Retailing Initiative brings together an ecosystem of Microsoft partners whose technology solutions are aimed at ensuring an easier, more efficient store environment, which is fully connected. It helps retailers to respond proactively, rather than reactively, to new business opportunities. The initiative can also offer a combination of important advantages:

• Simplified Management – System management capabilities built into Microsoft operating systems are designed to lower lifecycle costs by simplifying management, deployment, and monitoring of store solutions. Larger retailers can consolidate IT resources and expertise; proactively respond to system and security issues; minimise the need for store visits; and more cost-effectively implement value-added solutions.

• Choice – Microsoft has developed an extensive range of partners who can help retailers implement the best solution for their needs, whether this is helping a business build its own application, create bespoke applications, or build solutions on top of ’out-of-the-box’ products. Microsoft and its partners can also tailor solutions for any size of retailer. Having this choice of solutions and partners gives any retailer a greater opportunity to find the right combination for its business.

• Information – Microsoft solutions can deliver relevant, real-time information to give greater control to those who need it, any time, anywhere, on any device, and at multiple levels: within the store; between head office and stores; between suppliers and trading partners. Helping in-store staff to become more mobile by giving them access to information on the shop floor is a key benefit to retailers. Microsoft Windows MobileTM-based devices give managers the freedom to move around the store, enhancing overall productivity.

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OKAIDI

Retailer Achieves 10 Per Cent Productivity GainSince its launch in 2000, French children’s apparel retailer Okaidi has rapidly expanded to include more than 300 stores and 1,500 employees. Sustaining this massive growth and entering new markets was a significant challenge for Okaidi. The organisation needed to eliminate operational constraints and re-engineer its warehousing and distribution processes.

Okaidi worked with Microsoft® partner Manhattan Associates to implement its Warehouse Management for Open Systems and Trading Partner Management solutions. Together, these technologies helped build Okaidi’s optimised supply chain model.

In just three months, Okaidi achieved a 10 per cent productivity gain. Frederic Gerard, Logistics Director, Okaidi, says: “These solutions allowed us to meet our objectives, plus we now own a distribution model that can be replicated worldwide, an extremely valuable asset for us.”

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District managers are also being called on to do more in less time. A dashboard—or solution that presents real-time information to the district manager on a device—can provide a high-level view of all store managers’ responsibilities, along with the option to drill down to specific areas if they need more detailed information. In a wireless store environment, district managers with Microsoft Windows® XP Tablet PC Edition devices can save countless hours and process their feedback to stores and to head office faster, especially compared to paper-based systems. Users can also access key information, regardless of location, at any time, on any device throughout the store.

• Commitment to Standards – Microsoft has a long history of initiating and facilitating the development of technology standards, helping retailers to take advantage of plug-and-play device functionality and easing systems-integration challenges. Microsoft also supports radio frequency identification (RFID) efforts through standards organisation EPCGlobal, as well as more general systems management and Web services standards that are key to retail. This path takes retailers from their stores today toward an environment with greater flexibility and business agility, creating opportunities for improvements in efficiency, customer satisfaction, and profitability.

Retailers can extend the value of existing legacy technology into the store using core and common applications. A connected store is designed for maximum flexibility and interoperability, therefore it also offers greater choice. For example, in a connected store, a portal can provide access to an employee directory that supports both head-office functions and store employees. Microsoft solutions offer a low cost of ownership and help retailers to achieve a greater return on investment and assets. They provide out-of-the-box functionality to meet specific retail needs, or centralised management and monitoring that can support more than most proprietary solutions. Microsoft solutions help control costs by allowing retailers to defer capital investment, select the best applications for their needs, and implement them on a platform that is built with integration in mind. By giving employees greater control and enhancing customer service, Microsoft helps retailers to achieve an optimum retail experience that provides rich returns into the future.

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S.A. BRAIN

Business Management Software Supports Strong Business GrowthWales’ leading independent drinks and hospitality business S.A.Brain needed to update its existing IT system to support rapid growth. The organisation required a fully-integrated solution to manage its complex manufacturing, distribution, and financial requirements, and improve visibility of information from the back office to the warehouse.

S.A.Brain worked with Microsoft® partner Alphameric Hospitality to deploy a fully-integrated business management solution using Microsoft Business Solutions Navision, now part of Microsoft DynamicsTM. Alphameric tailored Microsoft Navision to meets its specific business practices as a regional brewer and pub operator. The technology can be developed and expand with company growth, and integrates seamlessly with other business-critical systems.

Kevin Roche, IT Manager, S.A.Brain, says: “We anticipate we will see a significant return on investment around the improved control of warehouse and supply-chain management.”

Providing ChoiceBefore making crucial decisions about their IT infrastructure, retailers need to assess their business needs and their stores’ technical requirements. Microsoft and Microsoft technology partners can help retailers:

• Choose the optimal platform for a wide range of target devices throughout the store—from POS to wireless devices, and from managers’ workstations to kiosks on the store floor.

• Build an integrated infrastructure from the ground up— a significant advantage given the growing array of store system solutions available.

• Implement innovative, future-proof technologies, such as RFID, in ways that best fit their business needs—from improving supply chain efficiencies to offering new consumer payment solutions.

• Choose from the widest array of best-of-breed applications and hardware from the rich Microsoft partner ecosystem, or less complex retail solutions such as Microsoft Dynamics products and applications.

• Use retail-hardened hardware and devices, while deferring investment in replacement hardware until it is absolutely necessary.

Microsoft offers all this, while still giving retailers the tools to deliver optimised experiences to customers, employees, and associates—the basis for measurable improvements such as increased conversion rates and basket sizes.

The Connected Store

SALE

Warehouse

Access Points

Consumer PDAs

Electronic Shelf Labels

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A connected store contains seamlessly-integrated retail systems, connecting employees, customers, and retail partners to mission-critical information across the enterprise.

Front-of-store solutions, including mobile devices, kiosks, or self-service terminals enhance the customer experience and integrate with back-office systems, which consolidate critical point-of-sale (POS) information. Employees are connected to real-time information, such as customer relationship management data, or product information from the shop floor.

Information gathered in real time at the POS, can be used for stock control or sales management, or linked to supply chain solutions, which, in turn, can send automatic prompts or alerts to employees in the store. The connected store consolidates IT functions for ease of management and maintenance across the enterprise.

SALE

Warehouse

Access Points

Consumer PDAs

Electronic Shelf Labels

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Microsoft .NET Microsoft .NET is the Microsoft Web services strategy to connect information, people, systems, and devices through software. Integrated across the Microsoft platform, .NET technology helps retailers to quickly build, deploy, manage, and use connected, security-enhanced solutions with Web services. Using .NET-connected solutions, retailers can integrate their systems faster and more effectively, and help them to access information any time, anywhere, and on any device.

Microsoft Windows Embedded for Point of ServiceMicrosoft Windows® Embedded for Point of Service is an operating system that is optimised for retail point-of-service devices and delivers many of the benefits retailers will find in a connected store. As a core component of Microsoft Smarter Retailing, its plug-and-play functionality helps businesses to reduce costs by simplifying installation, use, and management of their in-store systems. The technology runs both standard retail applications and modern in-store devices, helping retailers bring more compelling, interactive systems to the shop floor.

Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 2 Windows XP Embedded delivers the power of Windows in componentised form. Retailers can rapidly build or upgrade reliable and advanced small-footprint devices such as POS kiosks, and thin clients. Enhancements in Service Pack 2 include stronger default security settings, advanced remote device management, and additional networking and multimedia features.

Microsoft Windows Server 2003Microsoft Windows ServerTM 2003 increases IT efficiency, accelerates application development, and enhances employee productivity. This operating system powers connected applications, networks, and Web services from the workgroup to the data centre or from head office to store. Easy to deploy, manage, and use, Windows Server 2003 helps your retail business to build a secure IT infrastructure cost effectively.

Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006Microsoft BizTalk® Server 2006 builds on a strong heritage and core architecture to provide a powerful tool that uses the latest Microsoft technologies and industry standards for automating and managing business processes. Retailers can integrate new and existing staff and suppliers, or set up automated interactions between applications, systems, and technologies from different sources, faster than ever before. Other core benefits include comprehensive management and deployment functionality, seamless upgrading, and richer user and developer experiences.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005Microsoft SQL ServerTM 2005 delivers the enterprise data management platform that retailers need to adapt quickly in a fast-changing environment. Complete integration with Microsoft Visual Studio® 2005 and the Microsoft .NET common language runtime simplifies development, reducing time and expense. As a comprehensive business intelligence platform for data integration, analysis, and reporting, SQL Server 2005 helps users to turn insight into action and make better decisions, faster.

Supporting Technologies

The following are a range of Microsoft technologies that may be found either in-store – or supporting core functionality remotely from head office or other supporting sites.

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Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 helps retailers to reduce the complexity associated with managing their IT infrastructure while lowering operational costs. Using MOM 2005, your retail business can monitor and foresee potential problems before they become reality, or easily identify and resolve common IT service issues, such as database, e-mail, or logon failures.

Microsoft Dynamics CRMMicrosoft Dynamics CRM is a customer relationship management (CRM) system that gives customer-facing employees the information they need at their fingertips. Using Microsoft Dynamics CRM, retailers can create a central repository of customer data that sits neatly alongside Microsoft Office applications such as Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003. From Outlook 2003, employees can access Microsoft Dynamics CRM sales, marketing, and customer service modules to make sales decisions, market products, solve problems, and get strategic views of the business.

Microsoft Retail Management SystemMicrosoft Retail Management System is a retail EPOS software solution used by small owner-operated businesses to mid-size retailers with large chains. Microsoft Retail Management System is an easy-to-use, affordable solution that automates transaction processing, stock management, ordering, pricing, and promotions, and streamlines customer and supplier processes. Microsoft Retail Management System brings an immediate improvement in efficiency and a demonstrable return on investment at the store level through its Store Operations product, or at the head office with its HeadQuarters product. For larger chains, Microsoft Retail Management System can integrate with leading business management solutions, including Microsoft DynamicsTM NAV, Microsoft Dynamics AX, and Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) helps retailers to deploy relevant software and updates to users quickly and cost-effectively. SMS 2003 SP1 maintains business compliance by helping you understand your installed application base and its usage. It also enhances IT security and better supports mobile workforces and store systems.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV Microsoft Dynamics NAV is business management software that provides enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and analytical reporting to a range of retail organisations. Microsoft Dynamics NAV offers retailers extensive connectivity options to both POS and trading partners. Using standards- based XML and Microsoft BizTalk Server, Microsoft Dynamics NAV ensures that the multi-store organisation can optimise stock allocation and replenishment across outlets, manage time-sensitive goods through sophisticated picking routines, and automatically generate sales orders and check stock availability with suppliers.

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Title herePartner Directory

As a Microsoft Gold Partner with 23 years experience of software development, Alphameric Hospitality offers unrivalled expertise to our client base of restaurant groups, managed and tenanted pub companies and regional brewers. For all areas of the enterprise, Alphameric Hospitality matches proven integrated technology with indepth industry knowledge to offer advanced solutions that lead to greater return on investment, positive business benefits, enhanced operational efficiencies and bottom line improvements.

hospitality@alphameric.com www.alphameric.com

In collaboration with Informatica El Corte Inglés, Accenture is offering Avenew, a fully featured Point of Service application aimed at department store and speciality retailers in Europe, South Africa and Latin America. Avenew is currently installed in 800 stores on 30,000 POS devices in retail outlets, including El Corte Inglés.

alain.vitrian@accenture.com / pedro.barsanti@accenture.com www.accenture.com

BT Expedite is the retail specialist division of BT. We provide the best IT solutions on offer to retailers. We exist to help all retailers improve business performance. We can ease the pain points of your business and massage your aching supply chain. We are retailer therapists. BT Expedite offers a comprehensive portfolio that includes innovative solutions, products and services for every area of retailing: planning, sourcing and product development, merchandising, store, sales analytics and CRM, collectively known as the Connected Retailer®; plus hardware, network infrastructure, managed services, consultancy and professional services and client care.

claire.briars@bt.com www.btexpedite.com

Conchango specialises in helping retail, travel, consumer goods and financial services companies to drive value from multiple channels. We leverage customer experience as the cornerstone of our consulting approach, building this understanding into the technology framework. Our expertise and passion make us uniquely qualified to apply a balance of consulting, systems design, build and delivery advice to align solutions with clients’ strategic goals, maximising return on investment.

talktous@conchango.com www.conchango.com

Davidson-Richards Ltd, the Award Winning and UK’s leading RMS Partner in conjunction with RMSync provides a 100% Microsoft retail solution - from the operation system, development tools, database and applications. This uses MBS Navision, MBS Microsoft Retail Management System as well as SQL, MS Office, MS XP, MS 2003 Server. In addition their range of RMSynergy functionality enhancements is developed using Microsoft Development Tools.

info@davrich.co.uk www.davrich.co.uk

Alphameric

Avenew

BT Expedite

Conchango

Davidson Richards

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Distribution Systems combines the right skills with the right platform for the best integrated wholesale, retail and distribution solution. Our expertise is tailoring Navision retail and distribution operations. Our specialised solutions for warehousing, retail and distribution focus on: • integrated call-scheduling and CRM • rapid and accurate order entry • streamlined picking and packing • electronic order entry direct from customers including RMS EPOS

info@distributionsystems.co.uk www.distributionsystems.co.uk

Experticity is a three-year-old Seattle-based software company. The idea for Experticity came to founder, D.L.Baron, while standing in a line of frustrated passengers waiting for service at an airport. Earlier this year he hired CEO Jeff Erwin, formerly a Microsoft General Manager, to grow the company. Experticity’s LiveSupportTM retail solution enables customers to connect to an expert advisor via a two-way live video link thereby helping them get what they need. Shoppers get better service; retailers drive sales, reduce walk-away and manage labour costs.

info@experticity.com www.experticity.com

As a Gold Certified Microsoft Partner and member of the Microsoft Inner Circle, K3 Landsteinar has developed an enviable track record of delivering successful, integrated retail solutions based upon the Microsoft Dynamics platform. Our experienced team of implementation consultants have helped retailers like Adidas, Alliance Pharmacy and Dreams take control of their retail operations.

sales@theretailpeople.com www.theretailpeople.com

HP is a technology solutions provider working with leading retailers to deliver innovative retail solutions that minimise costs, optimise in-store operations, supply chains and IT infrastructure. HP solutions - spanning IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging & printing - empower changing business models to help retailers improve top-line performance and still reduce costs, while minimising risks associated with change. HP works with industry-leading partners such as Intel and Microsoft to help customers implement IT solutions incrementally, without large upfront capital investments.

cathryn.whiteside@hp.comb www.hp.com/go/retail

mCosm llc is a US-based hardware and software total solutions provider operating in the Smarter Retailing Initiative market space, based upon Microsoft operating systems and development environments. mCosm combines its award winning integrated Screen and Processors withenterprise class application and device management software for solutions in (1) General Retail (self-service, vending); (2) Food Service (self-service ordering) and (3) Digital Media Signage(information, advertising). It delivers complete solutions for the SRI market.”

sales@mCosm.com www.mcosm.com

Distribution Systems

Experticity

K3 Landsteinar

HP

mCosm llc

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Title herePartner Directory

As a leading supply chain solutions provider, Manhattan Associates enables source-to-consumption operational excellence with our demand intelligence, advanced planning, supply chain planning and supply chain execution solutions. These solutions leverage state-of-the-art technologies, innovative industry-specific practices and our deep domain expertise to enable our 1200 customers worldwide to enhance profitability, performance and competitive advantage.

globalinfo@manh.com www.manh.com

MATRA provides agile point of sale solutions to major retailers world-wide. With its proven ‘write once deploy everywhere’ capability, the FREEDOM solution gives retailers the ability to provide a co-ordinated, consistent and flowing offer to customers. By combining the different channels and services and seamlessly integrating with the rest of the enterprise in real time, FREEDOM is able to meet the needs of today’s rapidly changing retail environment. FREEDOM is also ‘legacy aware’, enabling retailers to protect their investment in existing hardware, interfaces and processes, offering a low risk path to modern systems. FREEDOM operates in grocery, department store, general merchandise, pharmacy and hospitality environments.

thouldsworth@matra.co.uk www.matrasystems.com

NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is a leading global technology company helping businesses build stronger relationships with their customers. NCR’s ATMs, retail systems, Teradata® data warehouses and IT services provide Relationship TechnologyTM solutions that maximise the value of customer interactions and help organisations create a stronger competitive position. NCR is based in Dayton, Ohio, USA.

enzo.tumminaro@ncr.com www.ncr.com

OutlookSoft offers a unique, unified, scaleable approach to Corporate Performance Management. Powered by the Microsoft BI Platform, OutlookSoft CPM is a flexible solution that delivers real-time CPM, unifying financial and operational data to deliver consolidation and group reporting, strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting, predictive analytics, executive dashboards and scorecards to provide one version of the truth across the enterprise

Matkinson@outlooksoft.com www.outlooksoft.com

Manhattan

Matra

NCR Corporation

Outlooksoft

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Title here

Retalix Ltd. provides integrated enterprise-wide software solutions for the retail food and fuel industries worldwide, including supermarkets, convenience stores, fuel stations and quick service restaurants. The company offers a full suite of software applications that support a food retailer’s essential retailing and supply chain management operations and enables retailers to increase their operating efficiencies while improving customer acquisition, retention and profitability. With installations in more than 30,000 stores across 44 countries, the company markets its software solutions through direct sales, distributors, local dealers and various subsidiaries.

renee.vanoostveen@retalix.com www.retalix.com

Symbol Technologies, The Enterprise Mobility CompanyTM, delivers products and solutions that capture, move, and manage information in real time. Symbol’s solutions integrate advanced data-capture technologies, mobile computing platforms, wireless infrastructure, mobility software, and world-class services programmes.

info@uk.symbol.com www.symbol.com

As a total solution provider, TOSHIBA TEC Europe offers a complete package from consulting and system design to system installation, operation and maintenance of point of sale systems, cash registers, scales, barcode printers, peripherals and software information systems. TOSHIBA TEC Corporation has a global turnover of 376 billion yen and employs over 14,000 people. TOSHIBA TEC’s majority shareholder is the TOSHIBA Corporation, which provides TOSHIBA TEC with the support of a worldwide organisation and a strong presence in four continents.

ovanschap@toshibatec-eu.com www.toshibatec-eu.com

Wincor Nixdorf is one of the world’s leading providers of IT solutions to retailers and retail banking. The company has around 6,000 employees and made net revenues of €1.576 thousand million during the last fiscal year. Wincor Nixdorf has a presence in over 90 countries, with its own subsidiary companies in 30 of these. In ATMs and POS systems, Wincor Nixdorf is the market leader in Germany and number three worldwide.

info@wincor-nixdorf.com www.wincor-nixdorf.com

Retalix

Symbol

Toshiba TEC

Wincor Nixdorf

Microsoft Smarter Retailing Delivering next-generation retail innovation

For more information about Microsoft Smarter Retailing and how to implement your own connected store, visit: www.microsoft.com/smartretail

© 2006 Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Server and Windows Server System are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.